Sunday fun

Sunday was wide open for some family fun. So we decided to take Myles and Holly to the Mall of America, and of course to Myles that means a visit to Lego Land! He couldn't wait to go! So we got ready and loaded up in the car. When we got there we headed right over to Lego Land, and Myles spent the next 20 minutes looking at every lego set they had there. He brought his wallet and we told him that he could pick out one small set and between his money and a little from us, he could buy something. Much to my surprise, he ended up selecting a Bionicole. I think that will be the next thing he gets into. I can already see it on the Christmas list this winter! After buying his new toy, we went to Subway for lunch. We walked around a bit after that, but didn't stay to long as we needed to get home for Holly's nap. The kids were very good at the Mall, which is encouraging to us to go back again someday!

After nap time and quiet time, we went outside to play with our neighbor friends. The weather was perfect this afternoon! They ran around, did chalk, played with balls, and played with their Bionicoles. We all grilled together for dinner, and ate freshly picked corn on the cob - Yummy! Did some more playing after eating, and had more neighbor friends come over. So there were 6 kids running around having fun. But, the evening couldn't last forever, and we had to go home as bedtime was drawing near. The kids went to bed really well, and now Erik and I are winding down for the evening. Hope everyone had a great of a weekend as we did!

Picture of Lego land - at least part of it! This doesn't do it justice!

Holly playing with some of the Legos while Myles is buying his new toy.

Myles holding his bag after buying his Bionicole - he couldn't wait to get it home and put together!

MN State Fair 2009

Team Johnson went to the Great Get Together, or more commonly known as the MN State Fair, on Saturday morning. Boy were we excited to get there! Myles was excited to ride the bus, and I was nervous to see if Holly would even sit calmly. Much to my surprise, she just chilled on the seat next to me for most of the bus ride. It was great! When we got there, we met up with our friends, the Murphy's. We made a bee line to the cheese curd stand, and had our fill of the tastiest little fried cheese known to man. I wait 12 months to have the only cheese curds I allow myself all year. They are the BEST!

We took the kids down the giant slide, went around on the merry go round, and let the kids go on a few rides in the kiddie midway ride area. They had a blast! We were there from 9:30 am - 2 pm, and in that time we ate/drank the following:
Cheese Curds
Beer
Cookies
Candy
Deep fried pickles
Deep fried green beans
Icee
Vanilla frozen custard
Chocolate Malt

I brought lunch for the kids so they also had PB& J and yogurt. I would say that it was a very successful trip to the Fair!

Erik & Myles on the bus heading to the State Fair

Andrea & Holly riding the bus to the Fair

Holly on one of the rides at the Fair - she went on 2 rides because it was doubly expensive for her as I had to go with her on most of them and they charge me to go on the rides. What a rip off. So Holly went on 2 rides and Myles went on 4 because he could go by himself.

It's hard to see, but Myles is on this ride - it is one where you lay down and "steer" the ship while it spins you around and goes up & down. I would have gotten sick, but Myles loved it!

There was a large Lego Tent with a bunch of lego sets put together, and also loose legos that the kids could build. Myles quickly created this little master piece and we snapped a pic. He had fun, since he LOVES Legos.

At Noon we stopped for Lunch - PB&J with yogurt for the kids, and Erik & I split the deep fried green beans and deep fried pickles. After eating, the kids kinda crashed for a bit and just laid down on the curb. They had been walking for over 2 hours by this point. :)

Holly was very interested in Erik's hat for a while, so I took the opportunity to take a quick picture of Daddy with his cute daughter!

Erik took the kids down the giant slide - they had a BLAST and wanted to go again. I tried to get good video of it, but many people got in the way. Still cute to watch!

Saturday Night Excitement!

Saturday evening Team Johnson went over to my parents house to grill out for dinner, along with my brother and sister-in-law. When we pulled into their driveway, they were outside staring up at a big tree in the yard. As we got out of the car we see my brother pulling something off the trunk of the tree. I guess some baby squirrels were climbing out of the nest and crying for their mama. So, where is the mama you ask? Well..... she got squished in the road a few days ago and the cold, hungry babies finally had enough and were trying to get out of the nest/tree. So my mom got 2 of them, but we could still hear one crying way up there. Erik and I took the 2 babies to the Animal Humane Society so that they could transport them to a local wild life refuge to be cared for. We then headed back for the BBQ and good conversation.

About an hour later, we could still hear the remaining baby so my Mom and I decided to do something about it. After convincing my Mom that she should not be the one to climb 30-40 feet up the tree, I began the long journey up. Part of the way up we discovered one more baby climbed out and was resting on a tree limb. I handed that to my mom and continued to climb. And climb, and climb, and climb. Until I got to the top. Did you know that a squirrel nest is basically a big ball of leaves and twigs? I thought it was more like a bird's nest, but nope. I was worried that if I began to poke around the nest, a baby might fall out. So down I climbed. We got a call from some wild life people who lived near (they got my number from the Humane Society after they picked up the babies we dropped off - they were girls) and they said they were willing to come out and see if they could get the remaining baby squirrel. We said yes, and were very surprised by this wonderful offer. When the arrived, I decided that they would not be the ones climbing up the tree. It is bad Karma to ask a middle aged man to climb up 30-40 feet for a baby squirrel. So back up the tree I went! And once I was back up by the nest, I started to peal it apart. Fortunately there were no other babies in the nest! We had rescued them all! The last one we got was apparently a boy, so they brought him back to his 2 sisters. The rescue people said the squirrels were about 3 weeks old, and that they wouldn't have lasted another day. So we feel really good about helping them! What an exciting BBQ it was!

3 week old baby squirrel all snuggled up in the box with towels.

Holly waiting outside with Grandma for the wild life rescue people. What a cute picture!

Saturday pampering

On Saturday morning my neighbor called and said she was going to get a pedicure with her sister-in-law and wanted to know if I was interested in coming with. Uh... YES! I love to get pampered, so after I quick threw on some make up and whipped my hair up in a pony tail, I was off! It was awesome!

Thanks for the invite Gwen! Looking forward to doing that again!

Tracy & Gwen soaking their tootsies in the spa water. Me? Waiting for the chair next to them to open up so I can do the same!

Corn Fest 2009

Well, Corn Fest 2009 has come and gone! It was a ton of fun! We went on Friday night with our good friends & neighbors. 4 kids and 4 adults went shortly after it was open, and it was packed! We started off by eating corn on the cob along with cheese burgers, corn dogs, fries, and soda. Mmmmm.... yummy! Then we were off to get some tickets to play games and jump around in the inflatable jumpy things. The kids had a blast, and only begged every other minute for everything under the sun. Well.... I guess I have memories of doing the same! :) I'm already looking forward to it next year!

Picture of the blow up jumpy things that the kids had a blast in!

Myles getting his arm painted instead of his face.

Here is Myles doing the fishing game. He was super hopeful that he would get a Bionical toy, but they had just run out.... that caused a small tantrum, but it finally blew over and we had more fun!

Here is a pic of Erik, Justin, & Gwen

So while the boys were off jumping in the "big kid" jumpy things, Holly spent some time in the toddler jumpy thing. She had a blast!

It appears as if Holly is trying to escape, but she actually was hard to get her out of there!

The kids begged to have some cotton candy. So we got one bag and split it 4 ways. Well, really 3 ways since Holly thought it was yucky. I agree with her!

Mason eating his cotton candy!

Preston grinning and hopped up on sugar! All the kids were hitting the sugar max for the evening!

Shopping with Holly

Last week Myles went with Grandma up north to the camper for 2 nights. He had a great time! Mean while, our little family of 3 hung out together and had a good time as well. One evening we took Holly to Maple Grove to walk around the Arbor Lakes shops, and it was so cute! She had her little purse that she carried around, and she acted so grown up. Erik got a new pair of shoes that Holly insisted on carrying. She did a good job until she got tired and then began dragging the bag. People were laughing as we passed. Very cute & funny! Below are a few pics from the evening.

Andrea

Cutie Holly pauses for the camera

Erik took this picture on his iphone, but it was so cute I had to put it on the blog.

Wedding Anniversary

A week ago, Erik and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Technically it was on a Friday, but we actually celebrated it on Saturday. Erik's co-worker had a fancy wedding in downtown Minneapolis, so we took the opportunity to spend the night in a hotel while our kids stayed with my parents. The wedding was lovely, and it was great to meet and get to know people Erik works with. The dinner was yummy and my chicken was the best chicken I've ever had. It was a fun night, and I even got to dance with Erik, so it was a great way to celebrate our anniversary! Below is a picture of Erik with the bride, Cheristi. The last one is of Erik and I.

Andrea

Not Me Monday!

Okay - so I'm going to give this a try! Probably won't do it again, but it could be funny! This idea is from the blog I like to read called "My Charming Kids".

Not me Monday... I would never wake up late and think it is okay because my boss wasn't going to be at work today - Not Me! I'm always an early bird who is the first to arrive to work! Yup - that describes me accurately!

Not me.... I would never forget my work ID badge as I'm half way to work, and give serious consideration to turning around. Nope - I'm always on top of things and can't imagine forgetting something as vital as the badge that not only gets me in the door, but allows me to get onto each of our 7 floors. So I would never forget my badge to work.

I also would never loose my meeting binder that holds some key information about employees, meetings, and HR policy. I would never go the entire day searching for something that important, only to discover that I left it all weekend long in the training room that I was in last Friday. Nope - that isn't something I would do.

I also wouldn't wear such a casual outfit to work only to discover that I have a 90 minute presentation to new Leadership at work. And if I did discover this very situation, I would never run out over lunch to Marshalls to pick up a nicer top to wear. That would be silly!

And above all, I would never have turned in 30 administrative forms to be processed last Friday only to discover today that I did them wrong and have effectively messed up payroll for 30 people, causing one person to stay late on the day she planned a half day of PTO. Nope, I would never do that. Even if it was a total honest mistake, and a mistake that I will never do again. Not me!

So once I escape the terrible Monday workday that didn't happen, I of course would not decide to sit on the couch and blog, rather than be healthy and work out on the treadmill. I am definitely very dedicated to running and find it very thrilling. Yup. No blogging & watching tv.... only working out for me!


Well, back to the treadmill! Hope everyone had a better Monday than I had!

Andrea

10 Years Ago...

10 years ago today, I said "I do!" to the most wonderful man! I can't believe how fast the past 10 years have gone. It feels like we just started this wonderful Johnson Journey together.

Erik, I love you more today than I ever have. Thanks for everything you do and for all that you share with me! I love my life with you and our 2 beautiful children!

Looking forward to celebrating with you this weekend! Love you sweetie!

Andrea

2009 National Night Out

Tuesday, August 4th was National Night Out (NNO). I am one of the planners for this grand event in my little neighborhood. Along with my good friend and neighbor, Gwen, we stuffed 100 mailboxes (federal offense, we know) and invited families to come grill out in the cul de sac. We weren't sure how many would show up, so we bought like a million hot dogs & polish sausages with buns. People started showing up around 6:00 pm, and it ended up being a blast! We had a good turnout from the neighbors and tons of kids ate junk food and ran around. Target reps showed up with free stuff and a little bean bag toss game. The police came and also handed out some trinkets for the kids. It was super fun and I'm already looking forward to it next year!

Andrea

People starting to show up for the NNO grill out

Sparking up the grill and getting the dog on there!

Everyone brought a dish to share - there was a good amount of food to go around.

Did you know that cheese puffs will stain your hands and face if you eat a million of them?

Matt finally eating after grilling about 50+ hot dogs.

Holly insisted that she wear her winter hat to the grill out - super funny and a little odd. But makes for a cute picture!

Myles with his buddy Mason - they ran around and ate a bunch of brownies all evening.

Here comes the Target reps! I thought it was a lost softball team at first...

Kids playing the bean bag toss that Target brought.

The police rolled up and the kids flocked to the truck - they thought it was cool.

Kids getting their trinkets

Liz holding her little Target dog

This is the official NNO hand shake so that we can avoid the spread of the Swine Flu!

Preston and Nicole pausing for a picture

Neighbors Shelly and Sara

Holly was so proud to get her hands on this balloon!

Group of neighbors catching up on the neighborhood gossip

Laura, Preston, and Nicole looking super cute

Bunch of kids playing in the backyard with the water/sand table.

Holly wearing a cute princess crown

Beach time is fun time!

Today was a pretty good day! Started off with Erik and I dragging Holly with us to Sears, so we could reorder a fridge that will fit. I have decided that I'm going to look at it as a good thing. Why? Because we go to the grocery store about 3 times a week anyway so there isn't a need for a giant fridge, plus the smaller it is, the less energy it will consume and thus costing us less. Yeah.... that's what I'll tell myself..... sigh. Now we have to wait for a week before it will be delivered. Great.

So, where is Myles you ask? He was so happy to see his buddy Mason that he begged to ditch us and hang with them. So they went to the beach at Elm Creek. Erik and I joined up with them as soon as we got done with the appliance re-buying experience. Holly was super happy to go since she was screaming for Preston and her "swim swim" which is her way of saying swim suit.

So we spent the next 2 hours playing in the water and sand, and eating a nice picnic lunch. We got home for late nap time and quiet time. Best part of the day. :)

Then back over to the neighbors for more running around and playing. Dinner together at BW2's - yummy! The kids had a blast! We sat out on the patio and had the place to our self. Which was a good thing since Myles set off the emergency exit alarm. If you haven't heard one.... they are loud. At the end of dinner, the kids boogied their hearts out for about 10 minutes to the music they were playing. That was hysterical to watch! I only wish I had my camera to document it.

Well, hope you had a great weekend!

Myles splashing water onto the sand to begin making his creation.

Myles and Holly plotting out the best way to have fun at the beach

My kiddos playing with Preston. Love that I got Holly in mid hop - cute!

They look deep in thought about what they are doing

Hmmm.... I realize now that I only ever got pics of the 3 kids - I missed getting any of Mason!

Holly started carrying around the bag of chips and sticking her sandy little hands into it. Not sure how many she ate, but I think it was a ton!

Thought this was cute - her sandy little bottom and the chip bag that says Ruffles next to her ruffles on her swim suit.